WASHINGTON – Annualized electricity price inflation continued to far outpace the consumer price index in the July figures. Prices for electricity rose to 5.5% over the year as compared to 2.7% for the CPI, compounding a long-term trend of electricity prices exceeding the broader price index. 

 In a statement, Paul Cicio, Chair of the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition, said: “The rise in electricity prices isn’t a short-term phenomenon it’s a long-term trend and FERC must do something about it. FERC’s failure to ensure that new transmission projects are competitively bid has given incumbent utilities unchecked market power to raise electricity prices. Only about 5 percent of transmission projects nationwide are competitive. Competitively bid transmission projects have saved consumers up to 40 percent.”  

“Across America, families, farmers, and business owners are facing soaring utility bills creating a new cost of living crisis. President Trump supports removing regulations that result in higher consumer energy costs. This is a perfect example of a regulatory failure impacting consumers. As an example, PJM, the nation’s largest RTO network, transmission costs have risen as a percentage of the price of electricity from 7% to 34% in ten years.”